


Red

by sarai377



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Blood and Gore, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-11
Updated: 2016-04-11
Packaged: 2018-06-01 17:15:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6528862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarai377/pseuds/sarai377
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zero shoots Tsubaki out of the sky, but he doesn't want to kill him, so Zero captures him instead. <br/>Minor Spoilers for Conquest (Blood, gore warnings)</p>
<p>Zero/Tsubaki</p>
            </blockquote>





	Red

**Author's Note:**

> I thought I would warn you, this story has a little bit of a Stockholm Syndrome feel to it. Their interactions were modeled from their supports from Revelations, but set firmly in the Conquest path.

Zero lowers the bow, a triumphant grin on his face as he watches the arrow meet its mark. Lord Leo smiles savagely as well, caught up in the excitement of the hunt. Pairing up with his lord had been a great idea, and he makes a mental note to tell Kamui that it had been particularly effective. Hiding behind Lord Leo’s mount, Zero had been out of view, and the Hoshidan Sky Knight hadn’t spotted the danger until it was too late. He meets Lord Leo’s eyes with his own, and he nods, and they advance together. 

The first thing Zero notices as they approach the fallen pair is the color red - scarlet, seeping along that white coat and feathers. The pegasus is wounded, Zero’s black arrow deep in the muscle of his left wing, but still breathing. 

It is the red on the rider that excites Zero, though. The man’s hair, silky and soft-looking, is gathered in a crimson ponytail, the long tail cast over his face. The fall stunned him, but he stirs, opening ruby eyes, hazy with pain. His arm is broken, bent at an unnatural angle. He gasps, resonant with pain, and coughs blood, crimson against his lips. Zero shivers, knowing he did this to the rider.

The sound of leaves rustling beside him draws Zero’s attention. Leo gathers Brynhildr’s earthly magic, ready for a killing blow. 

Zero shoots a hand out toward his Lord, and Leo hesitates, looking questioningly at him. 

“Let’s take them back,” Zero suggests. “We could use another mounted unit, the pegasus at least, if the rider doesn’t want to join us.” 

Leo eyes Zero curiously. “This isn’t like you.” 

Zero knows. He doesn’t want to admit to his Lord what he is really thinking. Leo has asked him to behave, and he tries his best… but seeing this wounded man before him, he doesn’t want to kill him. A lewd image sears his mind and he looks back at the Hoshidan, who has focused all of his attention on Zero, shooting daggers at him through the pain. 

“What are you waiting for?” That haughty, contemptuous voice comes out, strong despite being threaded with pain. 

Zero smiles, and pulls out his healing staff. “You’re not going to die. Not here, at least.” He chuckles, and then strikes at the knight’s head with the blunt end of his staff. 

Leo looks uncomfortable when Zero stands up, but helps tie up the unconscious Hoshidan without comment.

~*~

Kamui is quite taken with the idea, as Zero thought he might be. The young prince wants a non-violent end to this conflict, and he's willing to try anything. His soft-spoken “well done” resonates in Zero’s chest, making his secret all the more painful. It hides in his chest, all sharp, broken edges, and anyone could see it if they look close - but the only one who looks that closely, who looks past the posturing and the comments, is Leo. 

Zero leans against the cold metal bars, watching as the man struggles against the binding on his arm, half-awake. The lantern is set in the middle of the walkway behind him, partially unshielded. 

Tsubaki, they said he is called, one of Lady Sakura’s retainers. Zero hadn't known he was someone special to the Hoshidan royals when he shot him out of the skies. 

Tsubaki is unaware of Zero’s presence, and he groans painfully, and then heaves himself upright. The sound falls brazen against Zero’s ears, sinking down his spine and into his stomach, pooling there in heat. He leans forward a bit, pushing his groin against the metal, not surprised that the exhalation has gotten him rather… excited.

Tsubaki’s broken arm is healing, but Zero lashed it to his chest to prevent him from damaging it in his sleep. He might have tied the ropes a little too tight, but he can’t tell if the discomfort is from his arm, or from his situation. 

Strands of that blood-colored hair hang in the prisoner's face. Zero grips the bar tighter with his fingers as he imagines what that hair feels like against bowstring-deadened fingers. 

Tsubaki shakes his head before looking up. He takes in the prison, the lantern, and Zero, all but lounging against the bars. His eyes glitter like expensive jewels, precious rubies, and there is the faint shine of fever in their depths. 

He doesn't recognize Zero.

“Where am I?” His voice should be hoarse, pain-stricken, but it only sounds a little strained. 

Zero shrugs, biting back his disappointment - he had been hoping to hear more of those sexy little sounds, to hear his voice ragged with exhaustion and misery. 

He’s not really sure where they are. Kamui drags them all to this place between the worlds, between each battle. “You were captured by Lord Kamui’s forces,” he says, which is the answer Tsubaki is really looking for.

“...Lady Sakura?” 

“She escaped,” Zero provides, tilting his head. 

Tsubaki sighs, and leans back against the wall, his rigid posture unfolding with relief. “At least she is safe,” he says. 

Zero shrugs, and steps back from the cell. He leans down and reaches for the lantern. For an instant, he catches the glimpse of something across the sky knight’s face, but then it disappears. 

“Are you leaving?” Tsubaki asks. There’s the hint of a tremble in his tone, and Zero can’t help it. He has to jump on it, to poke and prod. He shouldn’t… but he can’t help it.  

“I was planning on it, unless…” And his tone turns suggestive, “is the brave little Hoshidan afraid of being left alone, in the cold?” 

Tsubaki’s eyes flash with warning. 

“I know more than one way to keep a body warm,” Zero continues, leaning again against the bars, slithering his hands down and then up with lewd motions. He does it, now, just to see what the knight will do. 

Tsubaki’s hands tighten into fists, and he surges to his feet. The defiant pose would look much more impressive if he didn’t have one arm held tight to his chest. Zero half expects that little tuft of hair fluttering above his head to stand on end, but it looks as perfect as the rest of him. 

“Fuck you,” Tsubaki snarls, his pretty face contorted with anger. 

“Mmm, maybe later,” Zero replies, shifting to hide the fact that he’s truly excited. 

Unbidden, he imagines what that would be like - Tsubaki pressing him up against the bars, hands in his hair, sweat and that floral scent on his skin, tugging pulling  _ thrusting _ \- he stops the thoughts with regret, knowing when he’s alone in his tent tonight, they will come sneaking back. They always do. 

It’s not really his fault that he’s broken like this… but Zero has not felt that pang of wistfulness in quite some time. These are the games he plays, the games to protect that bloody, aching, dying core deep inside of him. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll be right outside if you need  _ anything _ ,” he says, and turns. He doesn’t miss the sound of Tsubaki spitting toward him. He chuckles, and retreats. 

~*~

When he visits Tsubaki next, there is a gleam of awareness in the Hoshidan’s red eyes, the burning warmth of fever faded. 

“You’re Zero,” he says, sitting upright. With those two words he manages to sound as if he’s looking down on him. 

“And you’re Tsubaki.” Zero offers an exaggerated bow, to hide the shock he feels at hearing his name from the Hoshidan’s lips. 

Someone has told Tsubaki all about him, he can tell from his guarded expression. Zero’s a little disappointed, but he knows this levels the playing field somewhat. He knows all about Mr. Perfect, and now that he does… 

“I like the way you say my name,” Zero says, trying to goad him into that feisty anger he’d had the last time they had spoken.

“I  _ despise  _ the way you say mine,” he responds, arching an eyebrow. There’s that fury, smoldering beneath the surface, but for some reason he’s trying to keep it contained. 

“Shall I call you Hoshidan  _ scum _ instead?” Zero walks forward and rests his elbow on the crossbar, then puts his chin into his hand.

Tsubaki’s eyes narrow ever so slightly. 

He is aware, then, of the well-founded but intense hatred Prince Takumi has leveled on the Nohrians. Zero found himself defending Kamui from the prince's hatred in the last battle, and has no desire to meet Takumi in battle again. His ire is… terrifying, and all-consuming.

Tsubaki’s voice is deceptively calm. “You've seen him recently?”

“Two days ago, he chased us around Cheve,” Zero says.

Tsubaki frowns. “You're fighting the Hoshidans still?”

“The world doesn’t stop because  _ you _ were captured,” Zero mocks. 

Tsubaki draws himself up and flicks his hair back over his shoulder with a practiced motion. “I don’t like the fact that my companions are out there dying while I am held here.” 

It’s the truth, but it only makes Zero angrier. “Death comes for everyone,” Zero says, twisting his mouth in an angry scowl. 

Tsubaki studies him calmly, and Zero is about to walk off when the Hoshidan speaks. 

“They said… you saved me,” Tsubaki says softly, rising and walking closer to the bars. 

“That depends,” Zero responds cautiously, “on what you mean by ‘saved’.” 

“You didn’t kill me.” Tsubaki rests a cheek against the bars, red eyelashes down over red eyes… unintentionally coquettish in their soft fluttering. He  _ still  _ smells like flowers, exotic Hoshidan blooms, even after a few days in this prison. “You had the opportunity to kill me, and you healed me instead.” He raises his arm, mostly healed now. 

When Zero doesn’t immediately speak, Tsubaki looks up, watching intently. Zero feels awkward under that stare, as if he’s gently peeling him open with his hot ruby eyes. 

“I brought you down.” Zero snaps, tapping at the bow slung over his shoulder. “You survived the fall, and I asked Lord Leo to spare your life.” 

Tsubaki’s glare returns, sharp, cutting Zero suddenly. “Why?” he demands, desperate to understand something that Zero can’t even explain to himself. “Why didn’t you just kill me? I’m not going to go against my masters, my companions… my friends.” He reaches out and grabs a handful of Zero’s cloak, tugging him sharply against the bars. Zero gasps, surprised at the intensity. If he shifts to the left a few inches, their noses will touch. 

Tsubaki exhales, and his crimson eyes fill with that exquisite sadness. “I won’t fight with you against the Hoshidans. So why did you do it?” 

Suddenly Zero wonders who is the prisoner, here. His heartbeat rises, throbbing in his neck, the sound like waves crashing against the shore of his mind. Blood gathers in other areas, pooling low in his groin, even as panic sends icy awareness into his limbs. 

Tsubaki’s ponytail hangs between them, the red strands almost touching Zero’s hand. He reaches out and runs his hand along that hair, and it’s soft and silky and crackles beneath his rough fingers. He wants to know what it would feel like against his body. 

Zero stares at Tsubaki, and does the only thing he can do, the only thing he knows how to do anymore. He smiles, and deflects. 

“I liked seeing your face distorted with pain.”

Tsubaki scoffs, and releases him.

Too bad it was the truth.

~*~

The next time Zero is on guard duty, Tsubaki is almost friendly. They don’t speak of what Zero said, but he knows Tsubaki hasn’t forgotten. Zero starts visiting him even when he’s not on duty. They discuss everything else in increasingly civil tones, and Zero sometimes wonders if Tsubaki realizes what he admitted to him. 

~*~

“What happened to your eye?” Tsubaki asks. Zero freezes, fingers brushing at the patch. Some days he forgets that he only has one eye, and then someone reminds him, staring too long or looking at him with sympathy. 

“Is my imperfection bothering you?” Zero asks, blinking slowly. 

Tsubaki ignores the weak jibe. “You wear that patch as if you lost it a long time ago.” 

“I came from the slums,” Zero answers, and walks closer. “Do you want to see it?” That usually shuts people up.

Tsubaki shudders, but stays at the bars. “Yes… If you want to show me.” 

It feels like Tsubaki just punched him in the stomach. 

“I’ve got something else I’d rather show you,” he teases, but Tsubaki is serious. He ignores the taunt, watching him with those honest red eyes, and Zero’s smile fades. 

Zero is on prison duty this time, so nobody else is around. He stands before the bars and turns his head so that his scarred side is facing away, and then lifts the patch. The air feels cool against his rarely exposed skin. 

Zero braces himself internally, and turns toward Tsubaki. 

“Ugh,” the red-haired knight exclaims, and rocks back. His eyes are wide and repulsed.

Zero bows his head and turns, not looking at Tsubaki any longer. That  _ disgust  _ \- it feels like Tsubaki is scraping a hot iron through his insides. He got that as a child all of the time, and he thought he had become immune to it - but yet again Tsubaki surprises him. 

“Wait,” Tsubaki says, when Zero moves to step away, and catches his chin with soft fingers. 

He’s surprised at how soft and supple the skin is - he wonders what it would feel like for Tsubaki to touch his erection. A moan almost breaks free from his throat, and he clamps down on it at the last moment. 

Tsubaki’s eyes glisten with tears as he turns Zero’s scarred side back to him. He looks at the damage unflinching this time, and then he focuses on Zero’s other eye. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispers, running his thumb along Zero’s cheekbone, beneath his damaged eye. Zero presses his face into that touch, his mouth falling open at the tenderness. 

Tsubaki leans in and in, and Zero almost feels like he’s going to fall into those ruby irises. “Zero,” he whispers, giving a gentle tug, and Zero feels the breath escaping from Tsubaki’s mouth across his own lips. 

Tsubaki’s eyes flutter closed, and that sharp, broken thing in Zero’s chest swells. 

“Zero! Are you in there?” It’s Kamui, coming in to try and convince the prisoner to join them. 

Zero steps back quickly, away from the bars, away from those pouty, kissable lips, and fumbles with his pants. He adjusts his erection first, hiding it. 

He glances over to the prisoner as he tugs the eyepatch into place, covering up his disfigurement. Tsubaki’s cheeks are dusted with red, and he is staring at Zero’s crotch. When he glances up to meet Zero’s eye, the smile he gives him is not mocking or condescending - it feels like the smile of an accomplice. Zero realizes that Tsubaki’s hard, too, the bulge barely discernible beneath the long flap of his shirt. 

Zero’s a little more distracted than usual when Kamui comes in, but the prince doesn’t notice. 

~*~

Zero holds his lockpick kit tight in his hands, creeping along the roof. Silas is on guard tonight, and he can’t allow the knight to see him, to see what he’s doing. 

Over the past weeks, he's become aware of a passing fondness for the Hoshidan. It’s distracting and sometimes borders on painful. Zero has kept distance between them, since that almost-kiss. He awakens from dreams in which he learns exactly what Tsubaki’s lips taste like. 

If they were on the same side, Zero might have fallen for him. 

Someone who is willing to embrace his darkness, those jagged edges deep inside, to bring warmth to his chest… He doesn't know how he feels about it. The closest he's gotten is Lord Leo, but he's no match. The prince had offered him a second life, but he expects civility. Tsubaki expects his incivility, but he also shows compassion… and that’s why Zero has to let his crimson knight fly far away. 

He sneaks into the prison with ease. They didn’t expect anyone to find their way here except by Kamui’s welcome, so the prison was built to keep people in, not out. 

Zero creeps to the cell and makes a soft noise. There’s a three quarter moon shining through the window of Tsubaki’s cell, and he hopes that’s enough light for the knight to see by. 

He holds up a finger to his lips, eye glancing back toward the entrance. Tsubaki rises and pads over, and there’s a strange look in his eyes. All it will take is one little sound from him, and Silas will come rushing in. The jig will be up. Zero doesn’t know if he can worm his way out of this one, and he realizes too late that he’s putting too much trust into a man that he defeated in battle. 

But Tsubaki stays quiet, coming to the bars. His eyes bore into Zero, surely seeing that sharp-edged thing within his chest. 

The lock is easily picked, and Zero crouches, setting it softly on the floor. 

He opens the door, his heart beating fast again. 

The prison is all around them, but it is no longer between them. Zero trembles, and disguises it with a welcoming,  _ come-along _ gesture. 

Tsubaki comes close, grips his shoulders, tugs him in, closer and closer - and his wet lips are pressing against Zero’s. He stifles an involuntary groan as the other man takes hold of his cheeks, tilting his head, parting Zero’s lips with a slick, expert tongue. Tsubaki tastes so good, so warm - the warmth rushes across his skin, slipping into his chest, squeezing at his heart. 

Zero melts into Tsubaki’s kiss and his embrace. 

After a long moment, Tsubaki draws back. Zero’s chest is tight and his hands are tight at Tsubaki’s waist, and his pants are tight against his erection. He draws in a sweet breath, aware in some distant part of himself that he’s been rendered speechless, and his chest feels like it’s been opened, and surely that broken thing is bared to Tsubaki. He wants more of that warmth, but he has to let him go. 

Only when those white wings disappear beyond the trees does Zero fall to his knees, feeling his heart breaking again, in a way that he didn’t expect, crumbling into dust. 

He doesn’t expect to ever see him again.

~*~

Zero stumbles to his knees, a coppery, blood-red tang in his mouth. His bow falls from slackened fingers, his body alight with pain. He let her too close, this Samurai, and she struck at him while he was defenseless. Crimson pain leaks from his side, sticky against his fingers. 

The fierce woman raises her sword, ready to deliver the killing blow. Her light brown eyes spark with fury. 

It comes down to this, he thinks. He has no more jokes, no more snide, lewd comments - he fights for every breath, and realizes that she must have pierced his lung. The anger in her face will be the last thing he sees, but he doesn’t have the strength to say anything. He closes his eye and waits for her sword to fall. 

Truth be told, he’s been slowly dying from the inside out for years. His only regret is that he let Lord Leo down. But death comes for everyone. He smiles as he remembers telling Tsubaki that, months ago. 

How long will it hurt? She’s small, but wiry. Will she be strong enough to kill him with one swing? 

“Wait, Hana!” a familiar voice calls.

Awareness runs up his spine. Zero gasps, and that breath hurts. 

The scent of familiar Hoshidan flowers surrounds him, and those delicate, soft fingers catch at his cheek, forcing him to look up. 

His vision is streaked with scarlet pain, but he sees Tsubaki, his long hair hanging forward as he crouches beside him. Zero grips that hair with affection and falls forward against his chest. He’s getting blood on Tsubaki’s perfect white collar, but the sky knight doesn’t seem to care as he turns Zero toward him. 

“Tsu… baki,” Zero groans, still gripping that hair tight. His bloody hands are surely getting blood all over him… marking him. 

“I’m no healer,” Tsubaki whispers, his eyes a dim maroon with worry, “but here.” He presses a bottle to Zero’s lips, and the sickly sweet liquid mixes with the copper taste of blood. Zero chokes down the healing potion, and then sucks in a breath. Blessed cool air enters his lungs, and it tastes like Tsubaki.

“If this war ever ends… come find me.” The knight presses a quick kiss against Zero’s forehead, and then sets him on the ground. Zero releases that silky hair and coughs up more blood, but his lungs no longer hurt. He can’t respond to Tsubaki through the coughing, even though he wants to - but he doesn’t know what to say to him, anyway.

“Come, Hana,” Tsubaki says. 

“But, Tsubaki…” The woman’s tone is incredulous.

“We have to protect Lady Sakura.” 

There’s the rustle of feathers a few moments later, and Tsubaki is gone again. That phantom kiss, and the scent of those flowers, lingers around him. 

For some reason, his heart no longer feels like it’s shattered. 

**Author's Note:**

> First off, thanks to Shy for putting the idea of Tsubaki’s “antenna” standing on end in surprise… and props to Dorian who did this really inspiring artwork of Tsubaki spitting blood in Zero’s mouth (http://ngc5139.tumblr.com/post/141762249321/i-cant-say-im-happy-but-i-can-say-im-tired-haha).   
> I wrote this very quickly, as I don't have a lot of time to write this week, so there might be some minor errors.   
> (As a side note - I didn't expect my first Fates fic to be this pairing... but I go where the muses direct me. I'm in love with Zero so much, so you can expect to see a little more of him in my works. I really hope I did him justice in this!   
> Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!


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